Special Spanish painting section to be created with labels in Spanish and English

Baltimore—The Walters Art Museum will temporarily close parts of its 19th-century collection, located on the fourth floor of the museum's Centre Street Building, from June 15 through July 10, 2009, for refurbishment and reinstallation. Some of these works will go on tour for the exhibition Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum on view at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, Jan. 30–May 2, 2010, the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, May 23–Aug 29, 2010, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota Jan. 29–May 8, 2011.

The space will reopen on July 11, 2009, with many important Barbizon school works back on view, as well as several paintings that have rarely been shown before. One highlight of the reinstallation will be a section devoted to 19th-century Spanish art. The explanatory labels for this gallery will be in both English and Spanish. The selection includes Raimundo de Madrazo, Martín Rico y Ortega, José Villegas Cordero and José Jiménez Aranda—all artists associated with the gifted painter Mariano Fortuny.

"The extraordinary depth of the Walters' holdings means that we are able to vary the installation of the 19th-century permanent collection. It is a pleasure to be able to linger over works from the Spanish school, which have too often been overshadowed by their better known French contemporaries," said Eik Kahng, curator and head of the department of 18th and 19th century art.

The Walters Art Museum is located in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon Cultural District at North Charles and Centre streets. Its permanent collection includes ancient art, medieval art and manuscripts, decorative objects, Asian art and Old Master and 19th-century paintings. Peabody Court is the official hotel of the Walters Art Museum. For hotel reservations, call 1-800-292-5500.